I was honored recently to be asked by South Korean President Park Geun Hye to lead a new wing of the government. She confided to me that, although I was a U.S. citizen, I had the right experience and the knowhow to launch the Ministry of Science, Information, Communication, Technology and Future Planning. We would be charged with bringing about a paradigm shift in Korea's economy.
On Feb. 12, I put aside my life and flew to Seoul to accept this challenge.
On March 4, I withdrew my candidacy when it became abundantly clear that the current political and business environment would impede me — an outsider — from carrying out the mission of this ministry.